Delivering unrivalled M&E design, energy solutions and project management services, Ascough Consulting Engineers provide innovative, quality design to minimise construction, operation and maintenance costs. Building Ireland met founder / director Sean Ascough to find out more about this industry-leading County Wicklow headquartered building services consultancy practice.
Since it was established by brothers Sean and Tom Ascough in 2006, Ascough Consulting Engineers – a multiple winner at the annual Sustainable Energy Awards – has gained a reputation for excellence in high-yield energy solutions, sustainable M&E design and diligence in project management.
Specifically sought after to address some of the most technically challenging issues in the industry, Ascough Consulting Engineers have developed into the building services consultancy practice of choice due to the high level of success achieved from one project to the next.
Their expertise comes to the fore when delivering a comfortable working environment supported by technically sound and exceptionally energy efficient building services systems.
Sean is pleased to confirm that business is going very well at present: “There has been a big pick-up in the M&E sector of the industry since 2013 and we’ve been getting busier. We benefit from a lot of repeat business from loyal clients, which is obviously encouraging. We have never needed advertise and most of our work is secured through word of mouth.”
Over the past twelve years, Ascough Consulting Engineers have applied their technical ability and lateral thinking to generating several innovative first-in-industry energy solutions. Their mechanical and electrical engineering solutions, which differ from building to building, have delivered extraordinary and unrivalled energy savings.
A key aspect of these savings is attributable to a novel approach referred to as HCO (Holistic Controls Optimisation) that they have pioneered and subsequently developed into Symphony Energy – a global leader in HVAC energy efficiency through automated building environmental signature tracking with integrated machine learning. Ascough’s performance-guaranteed, future-ready approach also results in maintenance savings, longer plant life and lower FM costs. A holistic design approach ensures an optimum spend on building services systems today, with substantial energy savings in the future.
Clients value Ascough Consulting Engineers’ expertise and attention to detail and the company boasts an impeccable track record for delivering quality, energy-efficient mechanical and electrical design solutions that are invariably right first time.
“The secret to M&E is attention to detail and being well informed on the systems and the buildings which they will animate,” Sean continues. “We have a close-knit team of engineers plus back-up staff and we’d all work in a highly focused and co-ordinated manner to meet client and project requirements. The experience of the staff is everything. Between us, we have over 100 years of engineering experience and have covered a lot of jobs, large and small.
“With M& E, you have to get it right first time. As the old adage goes: measure twice and cut once.
“You build up relationships with people over time and our business model is to ensure that our staffing structure is always optimised to our workload. From experience, we’ve seen that when companies go too big the principals tend to lose touch with the projects and the projects suffer. We don’t ever want to allow that to happen.”
Furthermore, Ascough’s professional, cost-effective project management service is sought after when the stakes are high and a combination of in-depth experience and expertise is essential to smooth project implementation.
Offering a fully-integrated mechanical and electrical engineering, cost control and project management consultancy service that is second to none for quality in Ireland today, Ascough Consulting Engineers’ ability to deliver optimal energy-saving solutions has stemmed from years of quality M&E design and project management experience.
They have gained a stellar reputation amongst clients and design teams alike for their unswerving commitment to delivering value-based building services design solutions that meet or exceed building performance expectations within the context of aesthetic, space, acoustic and / or other parameters.
An ongoing energy management service is also offered to improve building energy savings into the future as further energy saving solutions can be attained through ongoing monitoring and fine-tuning to ensure that savings are maximised and locked down for the longer term. To this end, Ascough Consulting Engineers offer a tailored energy management service to clients in order to maximise the operational energy savings from their existing M&E systems.
Meanwhile, Ascough Consulting Engineers’ M&E trouble shooting applies best qualifications and broad experience to all aspects of M&E systems’ poor performance or malfunction. As a result of their impressive track record in resolving technical difficulties on building services systems, Ascough Consulting Engineers are widely sought after to deal with some of the most technically challenging building services issues in the industry.
Down through the years, Ascough Consulting Engineers have worked with a wide and varied range of clients, including the likes of Galway Clinic, eir, Royal College of Surgeons, PwC, Tara Mines, Hodson Bay Hotel Group, Cliff Hotel Group, AIB, Trinity College, UCD and Aviva.
When it comes to developing systems that will achieve optimal energy efficiency / energy savings, Ascough Consulting Engineers truly are in a class of their own. “This includes a lot of trouble shooting and re-engineering existing systems,” Sean notes. “The Celtic Tiger left a lot of M&E problems in its wake and we have spent a decade fixing many of them.
Sean cut his engineering teeth in London, where he was exposed to the very best practice in M&E design working for Ove Arup & Partners. He was instrumental in setting up the M&E department at the company’s Dublin office in 1991 and, from 1988, worked on the landmark Custom House Docks development in Dublin. “I believe that the standard of design attention, installation and workmanship on the first number of buildings in Custom House Docks has not been surpassed in Dublin,” he opines.
“We don’t accept substandard work and we’re very selective with the contractors we work with. We endeavour always to match the most appropriate contractors to each project type”.
“In any walk of life, you get what you pay for,” Sean concludes. “We focus on delivering quality solutions that represent the best value for money in the long term. To get the best return, you have to invest in quality. Everybody knows that, ultimately, cheap batteries or cheap shoes are a bad investment. The same applies to M&E design.”
Ascough Consulting Engineers,
4 Aran Centre,
Blessington Business Park,
Blessington,
County Wicklow,
W91 WT02.
Tel: 045 900757
Fax: 045 900753
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ascough.ie
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, January 2019, Vol 5 No 1
